The Word of the Summer {ABIDE}

Ever since I went to the To Live For conference, I have been noticing the word abide all around me. Whether it was a sermon, my quiet time, a podcast, or an Instagram post, God continued to tell me the importance of abiding.

The word abide is defined by the Oxford dictionary as, “accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation).”

How many times have you been faced with a difficult task, hesitating to pursue it out of fear, yet knowing it had to be done. This is what the act of abiding in Christ brings us to. It is when we say yes to wherever God brings us, no matter the internal fear or hesitation we may feel.

Face the task with the knowledge that if God brought you to it, He can bring you through it. God would never bring you to something that you are not capable of overcoming. However, this does not mean it will be easy.

In my personal life, abide has been the word of the summer. When my ears hear or my eyes see the word abide, I am reminded of its importance and the need to work on the act of abiding in my own faith journey. I am not going to lie, there have been a few times where I feel God calling me to speak to someone and I have held it in, worrying too much about ruining a friendship or facing rejection. I should surrender my overthinking thoughts to the Lord and step out in faith and abide to what He has called me to, yet I shy away. Maybe you have felt the same way or maybe you are the most outgoing and have no fear in talking to those God points out to you. Either way, we must overcome and abide.

If you have felt at a standstill, not sure where you are going, what God has in store; continue to face each day in obedience and abide in what God calls you to that day.

God uses what may seem a little to us to become a lot in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Pray day in and day out for the courage to hear Him speak, to step out in faith and abide to what His will is for your life that day.

We do not need to have it all figured out yet, or ever, trust me. God will reveal all you need to know in His perfect timing.

John 15 focuses in on remaining in Christ. In order to become more like Jesus, we must remain close to Him.

John 15:1-8, “’I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me and My word remains in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.’”

Jesus says in these verses that He is the vine, we are the branches, and God is the gardener.

From Jesus we are to branch off and become more like Him to spread His word and make disciples.

God is the gardener, pruning us to become more like Christ, producing more fruit.

Now, we can only produce fruit and spread the love of Christ when we remain in Him.

Think about it this way . . . how do you become better at a sport? Correct, you keep practicing. What does practice involve? Being on the field, in the stadium, with the correct equipment . . .

If we are to become more like Christ, we need to equip ourselves.

We must remain in Him and allow God to prune us to become more like Him.

We can only become the best versions of ourselves if God is at the center.

This is where that fancy word abide comes back. If we dive deeper into what remaining in Christ truly means, it means living in obedience and abiding in Him. Remember what I said earlier: abide is defined as acting in accordance with. So, we must act in accordance with God’s will over our lives. And how are we going to do that: by remaining in Him, staying close to Jesus, not abandoning Him. Only when we step out and decide to abide in Jesus can the fruit come.

When we abide, what we thought was impossible becomes possible with God.

When we abide, we are acting on His call.

When we abide, we begin to hear God clearer.

When we abide, we become more courageous to step out in faith.

When we abide, we allow God to use us in discipleship.

John 15:5, “I am the fruit, you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”

“You can do nothing without Me.”

All our efforts in the world will not produce fruit unless we have God at the center.

Living a God first lifestyle sets the stage for God to work in you, prune you, and change your heart to become more like Jesus.

Abide: sit in the presence of God, listening to His call on your life.

Abide: stretch yourself out of your comfort zone.

Abide: see God moving in your life.

I know this is scary, I am right there with you. Like I said earlier, I am not one to step out of my comfort zone. This is a challenge for you as much as a challenge for me. Let us both work towards a life where abiding becomes natural. Where abiding is not met with “really God, you want me to do it? Why not somebody else?” and instead “Yes God, whatever you ask, whatever you say, I will do.”